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DUBAI, U.A.E., 11 August 2019: Eid ul Adha (the Festival of Sacrifice) is the three-day festival that marks the Hajj pilgrimage and Qurbani to commemorate the sacrifice the Prophet Ibrahim was willing to perform of his son Ismail for Allah, who spared his son by sending down a ram to take his place.
Eid ul Adha (the Festival of Sacrifice) is the three-day festival that marks the Hajj pilgrimage and Qurbani to commemorate the sacrifice the Prophet Ibrahim was willing to perform of his son Ismail for Allah, who spared his son by sending down a ram to take his place.
Eid ul Adha is a time for Muslims to thank Allah for the blessings they have received and to celebrate with their families, friends and relatives. It is also a time to remember the less fortunate and well-off through the act of Qurbani, donations and gifts, so they can also celebrate the occasion.
Qurbani, or Udhiyah as it known in Arabic, is the word that describes the sacrifice of an animal to Allah (swt) during the period of Eid ul Adha and distributing the meat to those in need.
As an annual event, SVP GS and his family will make their own “pilgrimage” to the remote parts of central Java to perform the sacrifice. Accumulating the pledges made by personal friends and colleagues from EGS, this year he travelled to 4 remote villages in the district of Kendal, Semarang Indonesia. Apart from offering the sacrifice and distributing the meat to the needy, his 80 year old father-in-law also distributed alms in the form of cash (colloquially known as “eid money”) to the villagers. The activities were captured by an inquisitive reporter and was featured in the vernacular newspaper - Radar Kendal (front page) and also picked up by several other local newspapers.
As humans, we have an innate sense of morality. No matter what religion, race or descend we are, certain qualities serve as the moral standard. We admire justice, bravery, honesty and compassion. We abhor those who demonstrate treachery, cruelty or corruption. Moral standards are universal, and one of the most important aspects of Islam is adherence to high moral standards and good manners. Being generous, charitable and helping those in needs are virtues held in high esteem by all religions.
Princeton University WordNet defines generosity as the willingness to give freely. Islam encourages this concept of generosity so much so that it is embedded in one of the five pillars of Islam.
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